11 Feb 2019

Sanhedrin Calls for Nations To Observe Sexual Purity for Role in Third Temple
As part of its initiative to establish an Organization of 70 Nations to replace the United Nations, the Sanhedrin made a call for the nations to adhere to principles of sexual purity. Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the Sanhedrin, explained that this was extrapolated from the Rabbinic law which states that there are three sins that a Jew must choose to martyr himself rather than commit: idolatry, murder, and sexual transgression.

Ocean Shipping Rates Plunge: Just A Blip Or The End Of Globalization?
The Baltic Dry Index represents the cost of renting an ocean-going container ship to move goods from, say, Chinese factories to the Port of Los Angeles. The more stuff being made and sold, the higher the demand for such ships, and thus the higher the price to rent one. And vice versa. This is definitely one of the vice versa times. After rising to robust levels in mid-2018 the Baltic Dry Index has since plunged by about two-thirds.

Putin dismisses nine Russian generals
A decree made public on February 8 said Putin had replaced nine generals and two colonels who held high-level positions in the Investigative Committee and the Interior and Emergency Situations ministries. The dismissed officials included General Sergei Solopov, the chief of the directorate to prevent corruption in Moscow’s police force, and General Irina Zeibert, a senior aide to the chief of the Investigative Committee. None of the officers who were dismissed was publicly prominent, and no reason was given for their sackings.

State Dept. Lied About UN Textbooks Inciting Palestinian Violence
A new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office accuses the U.S. State Department of misleading Congress over recent couple years regarding actions by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, over the distribution of textbooks that promote Palestinian violence against Israel, evidence that has long been documented.

Death Penalty for Palestinian Who Savagely Murdered Jewish Teen?
… government ministers are demanding that the courts finally invoke Israel’s underutilized death penalty. What’s got the whole nation in a uproar is the savage murder last Thursday in Jerusalem of a teenage Jewish girl by a knife-wielding Palestinian man.

NJ Voters Furious As Governor Murphy Prepares To Sign ‘Rain Tax’ Into Law
Just when frustrated residents of New Jersey, one of the most heavily taxed states in the US, thought Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy had already brought the state into the ninth circle of taxation hell with new taxes to save the state’s ailing pension system, middle class voters in one of the least affordable states in the country have now been given one more thing to complain about: A tax on the rain.

Theresa May accepts talks offer from Jeremy Corbyn in bid for Brexit breakthrough
Theresa May has accepted the offer of more talks with Jeremy Corbyn to break the Brexit deadlock, boosting chances of a breakthrough. The prime minister indicated their teams should meet “as soon as possible” – with fewer than 50 days to go until the UK leaves the EU and no agreement ratified by parliament. She vowed to take up the points raised by Mr Corbyn in a letter, replying to an earlier one sent by the Labour leader setting out his price for passing a deal.

Controversial experiments that could make bird flu more risky poised to resume
Controversial lab studies that modify bird flu viruses in ways that could make them more risky to humans will soon resume after being on hold for more than 4 years. ScienceInsider has learned that last year a U.S. government review panel quietly approved experiments proposed by two labs that were previously considered so dangerous that federal officials had imposed an unusual top-down moratorium on this kind of research. The outcome may not satisfy scientists who believe that certain studies that aim to make pathogens more potent or more likely to spread in mammals are so risky that they should be limited or even banned.

Rouhani says Iran to continue expanding its military might
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that Iran was determined to expand its military power and ballistic missile program despite mounting pressure from hostile countries to curb Iran’s defensive work, state TV reported. “We have not asked and will not ask for permission to develop different types of … missiles and will continue our path and our military power,” Rouhani said…

Egypt pumps toxic gas into smuggling tunnel, killing two Palestinians
Two Palestinians died Monday and several others injured after Egyptian troops pumped toxic fumes into a smuggling tunnel stretching into the Sinai Peninsula from the Gaza Strip. The Hamas-run Gaza Interior Ministry was quoted by Wafa news as identifying the two as 39-year-old Hamas officer Abdul Hamid al-Aker, who was killed during a “security mission to inspect the tunnel,” and 28-year-old Sobhi Abu Qarshin.

Mossad, MI6 smuggled Iranian nuclear scientist to the UK – Report
Mossad, British secret services and the CIA extracted an Iranian nuclear scientist out of Tehran and provided him with a safe haven in the US, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday. The Iranian scientist is thought to have been smuggled into the UK on an inflatable boat alongside other Iranian migrants who crossed over to Lydd at the beginning of 2019.

Spain Catalonia: Madrid mass protest over talks policy
Supporters of Spanish conservative and centrist parties have held a protest in Madrid against government plans to hold talks with Catalan separatists. The centre-right Popular Party (PP) and Ciudadanos (Citizens) say Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s plan to appoint an intermediary for the talks amounts to treason. The separatists have rejected the offer – they want a new independence vote.

Haiti protesters call on President Jovenel Moise to quit
Opposition demonstrators in Haiti have burnt tyres and thrown stones, urging President Jovenel Moise to step down. At least four people have been killed and dozens injured in four days of protests in the capital Port-au-Prince and other cities. Many Haitians accuse Mr Moise and other officials of corruption. Thousands have taken to the streets this week.

US shutdown looms as border talks stall ahead of deadline
US congressional talks over a border security deal have stalled raising the chances of another government shutdown. Negotiators were hoping for a deal by Monday to give Congress time to pass legislation by Friday, when the federal funding agreement runs out. They remain divided on how many undocumented immigrants can be detained and funding for President Trump’s promised border wall with Mexico.

Plummeting insect numbers ‘threaten collapse of nature’
The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, according to the first global scientific review. More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles.

Netherlands to allow Palestinians to list West Bank, Gaza as birthplaces
The Netherlands will allow Palestinians born after the establishment of the State of Israel to list their official birthplace as the West Bank, Gaza Strip or East Jerusalem… While the Netherlands doesn’t recognize Palestine as a state, the Dutch civil registry will now recognize the West Bank and Gaza as the birthplace for those born there after May 15, 1948—the day the British Mandate officially ended and the State of Israel was established.

Hamas resumes night time clashes on Gaza border
Hamas escalated its struggle against Israel on Sunday night with the resumption of night time clashes on the Gaza border, months after stopping them. Dozens of Palestinians launched firecrackers and fireworks at IDF forces east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli forces used crowd dispersal measures to keep the rioters away from the border fence.

Trump administration unveils order to prioritize and promote AI
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday will sign an executive order asking federal government agencies to dedicate more resources and investment into research, promotion and training on artificial intelligence (AI)… Under the American AI Initiative, the administration will direct agencies to prioritize AI investments in research and development, increase access to federal data and models…and prepare workers to adapt to the era of AI.